AshtarakAshtarak (Աշտարակ ɑʃtɑˈɾɑk) is a town in the Ashtarak Municipality of the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia, located on the left bank of Kasagh River along the gorge, northwest of the capital Yerevan. It is the administrative centre of the province and an important crossroad of routes for the Yerevan–Gyumri–Vanadzor triangle. The town plays a great role in the national economy as well as the cultural life of Armenia through several industrial enterprises and cultural institutions. It has developed as a satellite town of Yerevan.
Politics of ArmeniaThe politics of Armenia take place in the framework of the parliamentary representative democratic republic of Armenia, whereby the president of Armenia is the head of state and the prime minister of Armenia the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and the Government. Legislative power is vested in both the Government and Parliament. Armenia became independent from the Russian Empire on 28 May 1918 as the Republic of Armenia, later referred as First Republic of Armenia.
Economy of ArmeniaThe economy of Armenia grew by 12.6% in 2022, according to the country's Statistical Committee and the International Monetary Fund. Total output amounted to 8.497 trillion Armenian drams, or $19.5 billion. At the same time, Armenia's foreign trade turnover significantly accelerated in growth from 17.7% in 2021 to 68.6% in 2022. GDP contracted sharply in 2020 by 7.2%, mainly due to the COVID-19 recession and the war against Azerbaijan. In contrast it grew by 7.
Armed Forces of ArmeniaThe Armed Forces of Armenia (Hayastani zinvats uzher), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army (Haykakan Banak), is the national military of Armenia. It consists of personnel branches under the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, which can be divided into two general branches: the Ground Forces, and the Air Force and Air Defense Forces. Though it was partially formed out of the former Soviet Army forces stationed in the Armenian SSR (mostly units of the 7th Guards Army of the Transcaucasian Military District), the military of Armenia can be traced back to the founding of the First Republic of Armenia in 1918.
KhachkarA khachkar (also spelled as khatchkar) or Armenian cross-stone (խաչքար, χɑtʃhˈkhɑɾ, խաչ xačʿ "cross" + քար kʿar "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosettes, interlaces, and botanical motifs. Khachkars are characteristic of medieval Christian Armenian art. Since 2010, khachkars, their symbolism and craftsmanship are inscribed in the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The most common khachkar feature is a cross surmounting a rosette or a solar disc.
TurkeyTurkey (Türkiye, ˈtyɾcije), officially the Republic of Türkiye (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti ˈtyɾcije dʒumˈhuːɾijeti), is a country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in West Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; Iraq to the southeast; Syria and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. Cyprus is off the south coast.
Armenian Kingdom of CiliciaThe Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Middle Armenian: Կիլիկիոյ Հայոց Թագաւորութիւն, ), also known as Cilician Armenia (Կիլիկեան Հայաստան, ), Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia (Կիլիկիայի հայկական իշխանութիւն), was an Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia. Located outside the Armenian Highlands and distinct from the Kingdom of Armenia of antiquity, it was centered in the Cilicia region northwest of the Gulf of Alexandretta.
KarsKars (Կարս or Ղարս; Qars; Qers) is a city in northeast Turkey. It is the seat of Kars Province and Kars District. As of 2022, its population was 91,450. Kars, in classical historiography (Strabo), was in the ancient region known as Chorzene (Χορζηνή), part of the province of Ayrarat in the Kingdom of Armenia, and later the capital of the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia from 929–961. Currently, the mayor of Kars is Türker Öksüz. The city had an Armenian ethnic majority until it was re-captured by Turkish nationalist forces in late 1920.
GyumriGyumri (Գյումրի, ɡjumˈɾi) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city was known as Alexandropol, it became the largest city of Russian-ruled Eastern Armenia with a population above that of Yerevan. The city became renowned as a cultural hub, while also carrying significance as a major center of Russian troops during Russo-Turkish wars of the 19th century.
Post-Soviet statesThe post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union (FSU) or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged out of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they existed as Union Republics — top-level constituents of the Soviet Union. There are 15 post-Soviet states in total: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
